


The Studies of an Omega (or An Omega in an Alpha's World)

by soshiteunagi



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Multi, Omega Verse, Past Child Abuse, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 09:58:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13233342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soshiteunagi/pseuds/soshiteunagi
Summary: In a world where Alphas are a domineering subspecies of humans, Noel Vixen has to deal with the struggles that come with being an Omega while personally attempting to understand the psychology behind the world she lives in.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> !!Please do not read the story if any portion of it makes you uncomfortable or causes any harm to you; I do not want to cause any harm (physical or mental) to anyone with the way I see the world. I have often been told I am a pessimistic person who only sees the worst in people, so if this could potentially offend or hurt you, I advise you to read at your own discretion.!!
> 
> Thank you for choosing to read this work! I do not have a current updating schedule; I don't often write unless I have the motivation for it. 
> 
> This work is based on my own personal experiences in life. A lot of the events that take place in this story are events that I have personally experienced or have had secondhand experience with. The psychological aspect of the story through the characters will, thus, follow my own interpretations of the people I have dealt with. 
> 
> Please enjoy if you continue on to read this story!

     In a fly, fight, or die world many will remember those who fly while some will remember those who die. Unfortunately, both of those sides only produce a select few who really go down in history; those people will forever be remembered and celebrated for the sacrifices they made for the world everyone now lives in. The rest of us, however, are the forgotten ones: the ones who fight. But within that group of fighters is an even smaller collection of beings; they fight so hard to fly in this world, yet they cannot seem to pass the gorge that divides them from the rest of society. Unfortunately for them, no one even knows they exist. The only thing that happens to them is rejection and disappointment. Among those people are some of the most brilliant creatures you’ll ever meet; they’re supposed to be celebrated by this society, but no amount of civil rights movements can ever truly diminish the racism and sexism that runs violently through the veins of many.

     Such is true of the world I live in. A world divided entirely by secondary gender and stereotypes can only harm its inhabitants, in my eyes. But the opinion of a fighter for flight isn’t one taken into consideration, nor is it even thought of. My world is just like a dollhouse: decorated and perfect on the outside, but a cacophony of crayon scribbles, ripped stickers, and broken or missing pieces. No one but those who live inside the dollhouse will ever know how this world really is. Those inside, of course, are the Omegas, the ones who, allegedly, can’t control their emotions, the ones who, allegedly, can’t handle a real job, the ones who, allegedly, are only brought into this world to manage the domestic lives of others. We’re a scarce species, dominated by Betas, and ruled by Alphas. Nothing about this world is truly safe for an Omega like me, an Omega without a pack. An Omega who can’t, for the life of them, “handle the responsibilities of a job.”

     The truth is, though, I can handle a job. I just can’t tolerate the indecency of everyone else around me. The social injustice really puts a strain on my mental abilities to cooperate and handle people. That’s why I’ve had to hide who I really am to people. I’ve had to go against every instinct and tug of my heart ingrained into my mind and my soul as an Omega. I’ve had to pass as a Beta just to get a decent job that will allow me to pay my rent and live paycheck to paycheck. For me, that means denying myself close relationships because being comfortable means being Omega, and that would only damage the reputation I’m trying to build for work. There’s no submission, no excessive apologizing, and definitely no instigating. The three most common traits of an Omega had to be repressed in order to hold a job, in order to live.

     For the longest time, I’ve been denying myself the basic traits and mannerisms of any Omega alive. It started much earlier than my adult life, unfortunately; my family wasn’t an Omega family. I was born into a family of Betas and Alphas. My older brothers were always coddled and fussed over; they were the Alphas that would inherit the family fortune. When my Beta parents had me, they knew something would be different about me; it wasn’t until the one day I first discovered I could purr that my parents began treating me differently than my brothers. I was originally thought to be a Beta, so finding out I was an Omega just threw a pan of coals and hot ashes into my face. My parents immediately began retracting the basic care an Omega needs. They began retracting the basic care any child needs. I would go to sleep at night after a long day of chores and a small meal.

     Eighteen years of malnutrition and neglect was enough to entirely shatter my mental image of me. Of course, I don’t believe that Omegas are of the weakest tier in the social separation of humanity, but I also don’t believe they’re the strongest. Omegas can fight, that’s for sure, but more often than not, societal norms dictate Alpha superiority to be the overall defining factor of life. One would rarely find a case in which an Omega dominated an Alpha in any situation, albeit physical, verbal, or mental. The lack of leadership from Omegas cultivated a world in which Alphas treat Omegas however they wish, and it isn’t often with respect or kindness. Now, unfortunately, Omegas are doomed to a life of domestication, treated like cattle and bound to an Alpha that wants nothing but domineering power over the family.

     Instead, I believe that the world is overshadowed by Alphas; I live in a world where, because I am an Omega, I will never find true happiness or experience love in the same way every story depicts. All I can do is start small and hope I can stay independently happy for a long time.


	2. Chapter 1

     “Alright, last question. What would you describe as one of your biggest weaknesses, struggles as an individual, or physical attributes that would potentially affect the way you work?”

_      I don’t trust others easily. I prefer to work by myself. I don’t know how to properly socialize in a way that would be productive to a team. _

     “I believe the only thing that could potentially have an effect on my work is that as a kid, I used to hike mountains a lot, and one of them damaged my knee fairly badly; however, I can assure you, the only problem that could arise from that is a knee brace and a faint limp from me. It won’t cause you or the company any financial detriment,” I explained, offering a smile and a faint laugh to soften the mood.

     “Alright, Ms. Vixen, I do believe we will be contacting you in the very near future about your availability. Before you go, would you like a quick tour around the building? You’ll need to get used to the place you’ll be working in.” The main interviewer offered a warm, but slightly uncomfortable, smile and an outstretched hand. 

     I took his hand in mine and offered two firm shakes. “That would be most wonderful, Sir. Thank you for your time today.” 

     “It was really no problem at all; thank you very much for applying for this job. I’m sure you’ll be an excellent addition to our team. I’ll have Kuro, here, take you around the building.” The short, older Alpha smiled, and I could feel a chill run down my back. I should definitely do my best to avoid being on his bad side--he screams bad news. 

     A taller gentleman stepped forward and offered a kind smile. I could tell he was definitely a beta. “Hi, I’m Kuro. It’s nice to meet you,” he bowed in greeting and judging by his slight accent, I could tell that English was definitely not his first language. 

     “The pleasure’s all mine, Mr. Kuro,” I reciprocated his bow. “I hope I’ll provide benefit to this establishment.”

     “Oh, just call me Kuro. Let’s go introduce you to the others.” He led me out of the manager’s office, and as Kuro walked closer, I could tell from his name tag that he was the technician.  _ So he’s the one who runs all of the equipment in the projector room. _

     He led me past a room (that I assumed was a ticket window) with a sign on the door that read “Now Hiring: Temple Theater.” I smiled to myself knowing that the position was now filled, and I had taken it; suck it, parents. My smile faltered slightly despite the celebration. I had to lie on my application and medically to pass as a Beta; no Omega could get a job in a place like this. Having an Omega in a customer service position was highly regarded as poison to an industry. Omegas were thought to be physical liabilities more than benefits to the workforce. 

     We reached an open dip that went further into the building that was only identified as a concession stand before operating hours by the sign and the registers. Quite a few people were working behind the counter tending to ovens and candy displays. I suddenly got nervous and my gut twisted in anticipation.

     “Guys, this is our new employee, Noel Vixen. She will be working back here as a Food Service Worker. Make sure that when she starts, she feels welcome.” Everyone’s heads turned, and my eyes immediately sought out who was who.  _ One Alpha, four Betas. Five males, one female. That makes me the second female and fifth Beta. Or, rather, the first Omega.  _ The smallest of the Betas came to me first, with a smile on his face. 

     “Hi, I’m Lance! This is my first day here, but it’s already really fun and easy. You’ll enjoy it!” I held out my hand at the introduction without even thinking and smiled.  _ He seems kind, but kind of small for a Beta.  _ His eyes narrowed at my hand, and if it was even possible, his smile stretched even farther towards his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’d return the handshake, but,” he held up his gloved hands. “My hands are covered in hot dog juice. I don’t mean to offend you or anything.” I offered a shy laugh and pulled my hand back.

     “Of course, my apologies. I’m Noel. It’s very nice to meet you.”  _ I like him. I think I could become quick friends with him. _ He walked away with a very subtle wink that caught me off guard. A few staff members then stopped what they were doing to introduce themselves to me.

     “Hi, I’m Violet. All of us here are Food Service Workers, so we all do the same stuff. I’m also new, so I think today we’ll have all of the staff today if you work today, too.” I nodded and smiled.

     “Nice to meet you, Violet, I can’t wait to start working.”  _ Definitely not the Alpha. I’m sure the Alpha will be last to introduce himself. _ I gently bowed my head and looked at the next person. 

     “I’m Hayden. Like Violet said, we are all Food Service Workers back here, so there’s no set person in charge, but for now, I’m kind of a shift leader.”  _ Ah. There’s the Alpha. _ I made eye contact with him and nodded. “I am personally obligated to let you know that I am an Alpha,”  _ I called it.  _ “But I promise that I will not force a command on you or do anything that will make you uncomfortable. We're all really close friends with each other, so I hope you can also become comfortable with us.”  _ That’s new.  _ This Alpha kind of confused me; most Alphas are very controlling and don’t submit to anyone. 

     “I also hope that I can become an asset to the work team here.” If I looked confused about his manners to this Hayden character, he surely didn’t acknowledge it. In fact, he just smiled and laughed.

     “There’s absolutely no reason to be so formal; of course you’ll be an excellent addition as long as you actually come to work when we need you.” He smiled and turned to Kuro, who I had momentarily forgotten about. “Kuro, I can take care of the rest of the tour so you can get back to whatever you were doing; I know this time of the year is pretty busy for us. I’m going to grab Noel here a shirt and a hat since I’m sure she’ll be working here.”

     “Thank you, Hayden. The door will be unlocked for you.” And with that, I was left alone with an Alpha and several pairs of eyes on me. Suddenly, I was rather nervous about actually taking this job. 

     Hayden turned back to me and began introducing the rest of the staff. “So you know me, Lance, and Violet. The other two are Angelo and Matthew. I typically run the snack bar. Violet is usually the one in charge of the ticket window, but everyone comes in here to get everything set before going to their own stations. Angelo is the one currently putting together the displays, and he usually does the popcorn. Matthew is usually in charge of cooking extra food, Lance is being trained currently, and I am usually the person at the register. Each of us knows how to do every job, but we all delegate our positions to those who can do it most efficiently.” 

     I took a look at the snack bar to kind of gauge where everything is. The ovens were in the back along the wall, and the displays were on the counter where the customers would walk past. The popcorn machine was in the corner at the beginning of that line. “May I ask a quick question?”

     “Yes, of course!” Hayden picked up a bag placed in front of the register and began to pull out a bunch of money.

     “Judging by the way this counter is set up, is this a self-service kind of line? Where everyone grabs their things and brings it to the registers here at the end?” I began to watch Hayden as he was counting the bills from the bag.

     “Actually, yes, that’s exactly correct. It creates less traffic back here behind the counter, so only someone like Matthew has to run around bringing food up here. Though if it gets really busy, it can slow down the line a bit. Most customers don’t understand how a line works.” Hayden then put the money in the register and turned off the screen.

     “Ah, okay. And how long does training usually take?” I kept looking at the register--this might be something I’d be interested in doing.

     “Do you want to know how long it’ll take you to know how to do everything here? Or do you want to know how long it’ll take for you to be able to use a cash register?” A clear laugh that made mine feel extremely inferior bubbled from his chest, and I was immediately taken back by how fast he figured that out.

     “The first question. I do believe that question would end up answering both, would it not?” Now it was my turn to laugh, but instead, I just smirked.

     “You know, Noel, I like you. I think you’ll do just fine here.” He smiled and began explaining the ins and outs of each job. Everything was rather self-explanatory: cook the hotdogs on the roller, and cook the pretzels in the oven until they’re done. Popcorn is exactly the same as microwave popcorn, make sure each display is properly stocked. Even the drink machines were easy to navigate. 

     I was taking mental notes the entire time, taking extra precaution in remembering where everything was located. By the time he had finished his spiel, we ended up back at the office.

     “Any questions for me, Ms. Noel?” He opened a door and dug a hat out of a cabinet. 

     “Can I start today? I feel like this is rather simple, and honestly, I’m kind of excited to work.” I stood in the doorway, not sure if I could enter the new room and finally took in the height difference between the Alpha and I. He was easily over six feet, and I was definitely on the shorter end of the Beta spectrum: a measly five and a half feet. 

     “Of course! Shirt size?” He began pulling out plastic packages with shirts out of the cabinet.

     “Mm, a medium, please.” Hayden tossed the shirt to me, and the shirt fell out of the crinkly plastic onto the floor. “Oh, shoot,” I whispered as I reached for it. Right when I bent over to pick it up, though, my forehead collided with something else. I moved back quickly to see Hayden rubbing his forehead and holding out the shirt to me.

     “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to hit you.”

     “It’s no problem, I didn’t mean to drop the shirt.”

     “Oh, that’s not your fault. It’s faulty glue anyways, I shouldn’t have tossed it.” He gave a polite smile and folded the shirt before holding it back out. “You should go get changed if you’re going to work, there are bathrooms you can do that in. Your hair should also be put up, do you have like a hair tie or something to pull your hair back with?” He pulled out a hat from the cabinet and put it on my head.

     “Um, I don’t think so, actually.”

     “Okay, that’s fine. I have one you can use. I always have hair ties with me in case someone needs them at work.” Hayden pulled a hair tie off of his wrist and handed it to me.

     “Alright, thank you very much. I’ll go change right now.” I walked out of the office and across the room to a bathroom labeled ‘women.’ I quickly walked in and locked myself in a stall, peeling off the blouse I had worn for my interview. I pulled the work shirt over my undershirt and inspected the material. It wasn’t very form fitting, and it wasn’t like normal shirts; it felt more sporty. The logo on the shirt read “Temple Theater,” and the shirt was a solid black color. I put my hair up into a tight bun and then pulled the hat on over it. I checked out the outfit in the mirror and tucked in any flyaway hairs into my hat. Satisfied with my new uniform, I walked out of the bathroom and into the office to put away my bag and clothes in a spot where everyone else’s belongings were located.

     Upon my arrival in the office, the manager came up to me and handed me a metal disk. “This is your name tag. I’ve gone ahead and printed your name and position on it. There’s also a time sheet you need to fill out at the end of each workday until I get you into the system that keeps track of your hours for you. Make sure your name tag is on the left of your shirt. The shirt looks good on you, by the way.”

     I chuckled uncomfortably and mumbled a thank you as I walked out of the office with my new name tag, adjusting it onto my shirt. I traveled as quickly as I could to the snack bar to get away from the manager; he was just too creepy for me to hang around. As I was walking into the snack bar, I was flanked by Lance immediately.

     “So since you’re starting work today, too, I guess we’re training together!” He smiled and pulled my arm, a gesture that I found more friendly than intimidating. “I can’t wait; I think we’ll be really good friends. You’re really pretty, you know?”

     My eyes widened at the sudden influx of information; not a whole lot of people compliment me, so this was a pleasant surprise. “Oh, thank you. That’s really kind of you to say, Lance.” I began to laugh. “I actually think we’ll be able to get along rather well. You’re very spritely, aren’t you?”

     “Well, of course! What better way to live than with a smile on my face?” His smile quickly upturned in a slightly evil smirk before he leaned in and whispered as softly as humanly possible. “And what better way to make friends than with another Omega?” He nudged my arm with his elbow and walked off to what I assumed was more training.

     All I could do was just stare at his back as he walked away.  _ Is it really that obvious? Or is he just messing around? And did he just call himself out to me? _

     “Whatever Lance just said, don’t let it scare you off. Don’t forget that he’s new, too, and anything he says to intimidate you about working here shouldn’t be taken seriously.” An arm rested on my shoulder, and I looked to my left to see Hayden standing next to me looking at Lance with a slightly perplexed expression.  _ Ah, so he didn’t hear what Lance said. Good.  _ I could feel my heart slowing down from the pace that Lance had set; what a headache. “Hey, are you alright? You look a bit… stressed? Or like you’ve seen a ghost. Don’t tell me you’ve already met DeMarco…”

     “Um. DeMarco?” I furrowed my eyebrows and quizzically turned to look at him. “Who is that?”

     “Oh, you know. Just the friendly, but not really friendly, theater ghost. He likes to harass people. Drops stuff on people, brushes against them, scratches them, the likes. You never know where he is, but hopefully, for your sake, you aren’t cleaning the auditorium yourself!” Hayden waved his arms and snaked one around my neck by the end of the explanation, which left me with the most horrified expression I think I could have ever created. “Ah, but don’t worry, Ms. Rudolph, I’ll always have your back in case DeMarco shows up. He absolutely hates me and wouldn’t miss an opportunity to cause me some trouble.”

     “Right… I’ll, um, make sure I am in his good graces, I guess? And, hey, what’s with ‘Rudolph’? That’s not my name,” I interrogated, pulling his arm off of my shoulder.

     “Your last name is Vixen. Like the reindeer. You’ve got so many nickname opportunities now!” A Cheshire grin split his face, and suddenly, I was being pulled into the work area. “Today, you can be my assistant. You look like you can catch on to the whole cash handling thing pretty quickly. That and we have a lot of people back here on food stuff already. Is that alright?”   


     “Well, that works for me. How exactly would I be assisting you, though? It seems like a very solo job.”   


     “I’ll let you handle the register under my name. How’s that? When we first open we just have a few customers at a time, so you can service them under my supervision. It’s bound to happen later, so until the manager puts in the proper paperwork, we can just get started on your training early!” Hayden patted the register and smiled.

     “Oh. Are you sure? I don’t want to mess anything up and get you into trouble.” I sheepishly grinned and scratched the back of my neck.

     “Well, do you know how to count money?”

     “Yeah, I mean I do.”

     “Well, then you’re set! It’s not hard. Just press the button corresponding to what they have, and then it totals up the money for you. You just have to be the person to start the card reader and give them change when they use cash.” Hayden glanced at the screen and grabbed my arm to lead to me to one of the storage rooms. “It’s nearly time to open, so you and I are going to go wipe down all of the handrails in the auditorium really fast. We can get to know each other better!” He let go of my wrist and began looking through the shelves.   


     “Oh, alright. What do we need to clean with?” He tossed a rag and a can of disinfectant spray to me that I was barely able to catch. “Ah, I assume this rag and this,” I squinted my eyes at the label to read it. “‘HIV Killer Spray.’ What an interesting spray. Do we use this on customers, too?” My eyes widened as the last sentence left my mouth. “Oh shoot, that’s really rude and not funny, I’m so sorry.”

     When I turned to Hayden, though, his face was a mixture of shock and amusement. “That was hilarious, I’ve never heard that before. Please, don’t ever hold back if your jokes are like that.” He let out a chuckle and lead me to the inside of the auditorium. I followed, slightly confused at the fact that he did not try to correct or punish me for saying that.  _ But remember, Noel, you are a Beta. Alphas are slightly more lenient with Betas.  _ “So, Noel. Tell me about yourself. What’s your life like? Don’t hold back on anything you want to share. But if you aren’t comfortable with something, don’t share it. If we’re going to be friends, I’d like you to trust me first, so I will do what I can to earn the privilege of knowing.”

     “Um. Well, my name is Noel Vixen. I’m twenty years old. My favorite color is green. I like to listen to music, and I like to sing. I don’t think that I’m any good, but it’s fun, nonetheless. This is my first real job. The last one I had was just watching someone’s kids to make money for my payments. My parents hate me, so I’ve been on my own since I was eighteen. My parents didn’t like what I am, so it wasn’t until recently that I’ve had more than one meal a day. I really struggle with my emotions, so I will most likely hold back what I’m feeling or passive-aggressively let someone know they’re annoying. I can’t really think of anything else unless you have any questions.” I sprayed down a handrail and began scrubbing it with the rag, careful to get rid of all of the fingerprints and hand smears that previous customers had left. 

     “What do you mean by your parents didn’t like what you are? You’re a Beta, how could they not like that?” I looked up from my rail to see Hayden viciously scrubbing at a handrail across from me.

_      Because I’m an Omega, of course, they didn’t like it.  _ “Both of my older brothers are Alphas. I guess they were hoping I would be, too.” I moved on to the next set of rails. “They basically stopped taking care of me, but I think I’ve figured things out for the most part. This job will help me pay my rent, and hopefully, if I work enough, I’ll be able to also take care of myself in the way my parents couldn’t.”

     “That’s honestly not acceptable. It shouldn’t matter what classification you are; you’re their child. They can’t just cease to take care of you. Even if you were an Omega, that should not be happening.” I didn’t look up at him, but I could tell from his voice that he was definitely not happy.

     “Well, it’s in the past now, so all I can do is learn from it, I guess.” We finished working in silence. The occasional clang of the metal rails against the can and the hissing sound of the spray were the only things heard. I could, however, feel the anger that was radiating off of Hayden. “So, um, you know my basic life story. What about you? What’s your story?”

     I watched him stand up straight and sigh from the corner of my eye. “I’m a twenty-year-old Alpha, as I mentioned earlier. I grew up in a very decent family. Not rich, not poor. At least in the money department. My family was very rich in culture. We moved a lot because of my dad’s work, so I’ve lived overseas, but this city has been my home for a few years now. I’ve been working here for about a year and a half. I’m the most experienced worker that actually shows up to work. The only one who has worked here longer than I never comes.” He took a pause to look around. “We’ve finished, so you can sit down. I’ll make this quick.” I nodded and took a seat next to him.

     “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve shown a lot of Alpha attributes. Dominant, confident, strong-willed, the likes. But I was never a traditional Alpha if that makes sense. My father, an Alpha, treated my mother terribly. She was an Omega, and she was miserable. He was always making ridiculous demands, forcing her to stay home and have kids, anything a traditional Omega, or woman, really, was expected to do many centuries ago. I grew up hating my father, and I always promised myself that I would never treat anyone in that way just because I am a male or just because I am an Alpha. That’s why I’m personally obligated to let people know that I’m an Alpha. I want them to feel safe and know what I am, so they aren’t scared of me. I don’t want to be my father.”

     I turned to face Hayden, who had his head hung and spoke quieter as his spiel went on. “I’m really sorry that you had to live through that, Hayden. If it’s any consolation, you’re doing pretty darn well as an Alpha. Honestly, I was surprised you were this kind and inclusive. You’re seriously going to bless anyone you meet because you’re such a kind person. And I haven’t even known you for an hour. After our brief meeting, I honestly don’t think you could ever be a stereotypical Alpha.”

     Hayden offered a soft, half smile and a short laugh. “Well thank you, Noel. I really appreciate that. I didn’t mean to get mad at you earlier, it just really does not sit right with me that you were treated any less than your brothers just because of your secondary gender. It’s nothing you did, honestly. And this might be weird, or something you get a lot, but you really seem to know how to say the right thing. I mean, you’re hilarious already, with that HIV spray remark, and you just really know how to calm people down, or at least me. Had I not known you were a Beta, I would immediately think you’re an Omega.” He stood up and started walking towards the door, motioning for me to follow.

     As soon as he turned around, my eyes nervously widened, and I let out a quiet breath.  _ Hey, chill out with your Omega, Noel. You can’t afford to let people know.  _ I followed him outside of the auditorium back to the snack bar where everyone was sitting on top of an available counter space and talking. 

     “Dang, Hayden. Making out with the new kid already?” Angelo and Matthew shared a high-five and snickered. 

     “Haha, funny. No, we were cleaning the handrails, thank you,” Hayden growled. A shiver ran down my back in response, and it took all I had to not release a responding whimper. 

     “Jeez, Alpha, chill.” Angelo held his hands up in surrender and motioned for us to sit. I got up on the counter near the registers, which was slightly lower than the other ones. It was much easier for me to get up on them than the others that I assumed would provide more difficulty.

     I snuck a glance at Lance only to see him already looking at me. He waved and subtly gestured between Hayden and I. I shook my head in confusion, not understanding what he was implying, and just paid attention to the conversation that continued as if nothing had happened. 

     “So yeah, that’s why I think we should get to know the newbies. We don’t know who they are or what they’re capable of.” I internally groaned as I turned towards the source of the voice: Matthew. The same person who accused Hayden and me of making out.  _ I’m probably not going to like working with him. I can feel it.  _

     “That could be a good idea. I wouldn’t mind getting to know either of them a little better.” Violet crossed her legs while nodding and glancing between myself and Lance.   


     “Alright. Don’t ask dumb questions. And Noel, don’t answer questions you aren’t comfortable with. You too, Lance.” Hayden narrowed his eyes at Angelo and Matthew, who sported Joker-like grins.

     “Okay, first thing’s first. Full names. Both of you.” Angelo pointed to Lance and smiled. “You first, pretty boy. You got to the building first.”

     “Alright, sure.” Lance chuckled nervously. “My entire, full name is Lance Bishop. I do not have a middle name.” 

     “Alrighty, that’s an interesting last name, but we already knew that. Noel’s turn.”

     I sighed and glanced at Lance, who shrugged, and at Hayden, who offered an apologetic smile. “Fine. My first name is Noel, obviously, and if you forgot my last name, it’s Vixen. My middle name is Yule. Picked by my father, who was a huge joker, I was named after Christmas, basically. Noel Yule Vixen.” I threw up some jazz hands and looked around at everyone’s reactions.

     Lance had an awestruck look in his eyes, Violet just nodded without question, Angelo and Matthew looked rather disappointed, but Hayden had an unreadable expression on his face.  _ I mean, dang, not even one person laughed at that. That’s new.  _ I shrugged and directed the conversation onwards. “So anything else to ask?”

     “If we were all the last people on Earth, who would- jeez, Hayden what the heck?” Matthew began rubbing his shoulder, where Hayden had shoved him.

     “And we are done now,” Hayden cut off. “I said no dumb questions. That includes inappropriate questions. We are at work. Anything like that should be asked after work and when you are alone with them.”

     “Awe, but come on, Hayden. You know you want to know, too,” Angelo pressed. 

     “Seriously, guys, back off,” Violet intervened.

     “Both of you. To your stations. We’re opening soon, and I will not tolerate you treating the new employees this way. At least wait until they’re comfortable sharing that information with you willingly. That means without you asking for it,” Hayden all but growled. My throat began to close. I shared a look with Lance, and I could tell that Hayden’s voice was definitely affecting him the same way it was affecting me.  _ And that confirms my suspicions.  _ This amount of anger from Hayden in one day was going to seriously set off my excessive submissiveness if he doesn't tone it down.

     “Hey, Lance. I have a question about something regarding my clothes, and you seem about the same figure as me. Please come with me.” I ushered myself out of the snack bar with a trembling Lance in tow and busted into the auditorium. We stood, facing each other until we were sure no one was following us. 

     “You, too, right? I didn’t just give myself away to someone who isn’t the same as me, right?” Lance whispered and stepped back from me, his voice barely above a whisper.

     “It’s okay, Lance. Me too. How did you find out so easily?” I brought him into a hug, hopeful to at least calm him down some.    


     “You just look too pretty to be a Beta. I mean, you’re on the taller side of Omegas, but good gosh, you just couldn’t have been a Beta.” He wrapped his arms around me tightly and began to cease his trembling. I gently pet his hair while he hugged me and calmed down. 

     “It caught me seriously off-guard. You’re pretty darn smart, Lance,” I chuckled and rubbed circles on his back with my other hand. “We have to calm down though. If you’re using suppressants and scent blockers like I am, it won’t take a whole lot of nerves to entirely wipe out the neutral scent,” I whispered, afraid of someone coming in to find us. 

     “Yeah, you’re right,” he replied. “Thanks, Noel, honestly. I really appreciate it. We should get back. We’re about to open.”

     “Yeah, we should. And hey, Lance,” I pulled him away from me by his shoulders to look him in the eyes. “Any time you need to talk to me, get away from them, or calm down, just let me know. We can make a secret code or something, but for now, just let me know, and I will help.”

     Lance let out a small giggle. “Man, Noel, you really are something, huh? We’re going to have to stick together, really. We should totally hang out after work and get to know each other.”

     I linked my arm with his and began walking out of the auditorium towards the others. “You know, that’d be nice. How about you come home with me, and you can spend the night or something? I can make some dinner, and I have space to accommodate you.” 

     “That sounds perfect. How far do you live from here?”   


     “Not too far. About a thirty to forty-five-minute walk?” I shrugged and held open the door.   


     “Oh wow. That’s closer than my place - thank you. I currently live with a friend. He doesn’t really pay rent, so I have to work a lot, but he does get food. Most of the time.”

     “Yikes, sounds kind of rough. I’m on my own. Never really grew up with friends, and I definitely don’t want to live with my family. Which is a story for another time.” I sighed and stopped at the counter, smoothing out my shirt.

     “Typical wrong-gender-means-no-family story?” He tucked some loose hairs into my hat before pulling his own back on. 

     I laughed and nodded. “Yeah. Always a fun time. Party, even.” 

     Lance shook his head and offered his own laugh. “Of course, of course. Now, let’s go get to work. I’m sure  _ Hayden  _ will have something for you to do. Near him. I’m going to ship it. Starting about since you guys went into the auditorium. Which you will have to tell me about tonight.”

     I frowned and shook my head. “Whatever, Lance. Nothing happened. Nothing will happen.”

     Lance placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder which was given a confused look. “Trust me, he’s already protected you from something. Didn’t think to protect me the same time he did you. I’m calling it, and you can’t stop me.”   


     Lance pulled away and began to walk over to the front doors, where a ticket box was waiting for him. “What do you mean by that?” He just shrugged and continued walking, waving at Violet who was setting up the ticket booth. 

     I turned around and walked over to the cash register, unsure of what I was to be doing at that moment. The food was on display, and everyone was at their position. Hayden came up to the register and logged back in. 

     “So I’ll show you how to do this before we get customers. It’s pretty easy. We log out when we aren’t actively using the registers to prevent people from coming in and stealing the money. But, do you see these buttons? Each one is named after a product we have. Some are folders, like the ‘drinks’ and the ‘candy’ buttons. When you click those, you get a set of items that fall into that category. Like different candies, or different cup sizes.” He motioned for me to explore the register screen, and I began to press buttons.

     “Hey, Noel,” Angelo came up behind me and placed a hand on my hip opposite of him. “Speaking of cup sizes, what are you?” His hand reached up for my chest, and before I could even cover myself and push away, Hayden had smacked Angelo’s hand and pulled me behind him. 

     All I could do was stand and stare in shock at Angelo from behind Hayden.  _ What in the actual heck?  _ I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to make myself seem unfazed, but even I knew that it wasn’t doing anything to convince anyone. 

     “Angelo.  _ What were you thinking? _ ” I seethed, exasperatedly and barely above a whisper. He just glanced between Hayden and me, and his face paled. I frowned and stepped out from behind Hayden to see his face, only to have him pull me back behind him.  _ So Hayden must be ticked. Okay. _ “Hey, Hayden, it’s fine. You don’t have to do anything,” I said as I lightly pulled his shirt. 

     “Noel. If you continue trying to stop a confrontation, I will carry you out of this building myself,” he growled. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I could not move. Hayden did not break his promise by putting me in a command, but I was downright  _ terrified  _ of what could happen if I did not listen. 

     “Hayden, listen, I can explain,” Angelo stammered. 

     “Lance, since you’re standing there, can you please go get Kuro. If he’s not in the main office, get Jess. Don’t get the boss. I’m not doing anything until I have an official witness.” Lance gave a mock salute before running to the office, shortly returning with both Kuro and Jess in tow.  _ Avoid misinterpretation of reports, I guess.       _

     “Alright. Great. Here, Lance, you and Noel seem to be getting along well.” He gently nudged me towards Lance, and I looked back to see Angelo with his head hung super low in submission. I walked towards the wall where Matthew and Violet stood with Lance following closely behind, an arm around my shoulder. 

     “Noel, what happened,” Lance whispered. I crossed my arms again and tried to make myself smaller as he wrapped me in a hug. 

     “Just watch. Hayden will probably expose him,” I mumbled. I shivered to get rid of my nerves and just watched the scene unfold. 

     “Alright. Noel, you’re situated. Great. Kuro, Jess. Angelo, here,” he pointed, “just made an attempt to touch Noel. Specifically her chest, and made an inappropriate comment as he did so. That is considered harassment, and I would like for you to review the cameras and verify this as well as create a harassment report to send to HR. If you can, I think it’d be best to relieve Angelo of his duties. I know it isn’t my establishment nor my place to say who can and cannot work here, but I do not want any of my coworkers, or friends, to partake in these activities or be victims of it.” He sighed and turned towards Angelo. “You have seriously disappointed me. I thought you were better than this. I’m not going to physically afront you because we are open, and I’m not going to cause a scene. So, I think you should go home today during the break to avoid me because I am very livid right now, and being on our break will not stop me from doing anything.” Angelo nodded quickly and went back to his corner with the popcorn.

     “Alright, we will see what we can do, Hayden, thank you. And Noel, do you have anything to add to this?” Kuro asked. 

     I shook my head and leaned on the wall. “Hayden is right. I would like to mention, though, that he did keep Angelo from touching me before I could even defend myself.” I turned to Hayden and offered a half smile. “So, thanks, Hayden, I owe you one.” He smiled back and shook his head.

     “Um, hello? Can I buy tickets now?” A customer walked up to the counter with her kids.

     “Oh, yes, sorry, we had an emergency. We can ring you up at this register so you don’t have to go back outside. It’s a bit cold out,” Hayden explained. He motioned for me to walk over and he began explaining to the customer that I would help her. “This is Noel, she’s a new employee, so I will be teaching her how to use the register.

     “So, Noel, go to the tickets section. There’s a button that says tickets. It has the movies for about a week in advance.” I clicked on the button, and, sure enough, there were movies for every showing for the week. Because there’s only one auditorium, though, the theater doesn’t have very many showings in a day. “Find today’s ticket slot and today’s showing. It’s the first movie. When you click on that, it gives you four options for ticket types. Active duty, adults, children, and infants. You have one adult, so click that one, and two kids.” He began pointing to each ticket type as I clicked them. “Ma’am, how old are your children?”

     She smiled and answered, “Six and four.” Hayden returned a grin and nodded.

     “Alright, so your four-year-old is free, but you will pay the child price for your six-year-old.”

     “Okay, that is perfectly fine!” She began to pull out her wallet.

     “Are you paying with cash or a card?”

     “Card.”

     “Perfect. Noel, press the process button, and when the second screen pops up, press the process button again.” He pointed to each button and then tapped on the card reader. “Alright ma’am, you can go ahead and swipe and follow the instructions on the reader. Then you’ll be all set.”   


     I watched as she typed in a PIN and jumped slightly as the register drawer popped out at the end of the transaction. “Whoa. That scared me.”

     Hayden handed the lady her receipt and laughed. He waved at the kids before turning to me. “Yeah, the drawer pops out regardless of the kind of transaction you’ll make. Think you can handle this?” 

     “I think so. It doesn’t seem that hard. How do I do a cash transaction?” I stepped slightly to the side to allow him to show me how to start a transaction. 

     “Basically the same thing. When you get to the second processing screen, just change the thirty that is under the total price to a two, input what they paid, and it’ll be a cash transaction.”

     “Oh, okay. That seems pretty easy.” I began pressing random buttons to find where everything is, again.

     “Alright, perfect. Because I’m sending Angelo home after our break, so you’ll have to handle tonight’s showing on your own with the register. If you need help, I can help you, but I will be mostly doing the popcorn, alright?” He rested his arm on my shoulder.

     “Got it.”   


     “Excellent. You’re coming with me during lunch, by the way. Bring Lance if you want.”


End file.
